182 Reviews and Extracts. — Natural Ihstory. 
the Shrike. Yet it aj)pears that it must he a butcher too; and that the name 
^ Lanius,' bestowed upon it by Gesner, two hundred and fifty years ago, was not 
Jigfhtly given. My neighbour's gamekeeper kills it as a bird of prey ; and tells 
me he has known it draw weak young pheasants through the bars of tlie breeding 
coops; and others have informed me, they liave caught them when banquetino- on 
the carcass of some little bird they had captured. All small birds have an antipathy 
to the Shrike, betray anger, and utter the moan of danger, when it approaches 
their nests. I have often heard this signal of distress, and, cautiously approach- 
ing to learn the cause, have frequently found that this nutcher-bird occasioned 
it. They will mob, attack, and drive it away, as they do the owl, as if fully 
acquainted with its plundering propensities. Linnceus attached to it the trivial 
epithet ' exailUor, a sentinel; a very apposite appellation, as this bird seldom 
conceals itself in a bush, but sits perched upon some upper spray, in an open situa- 
tion, heedful of danger, or watching for its prey.' 
"Audubon informs us that, ' when pouncing upon its prey, this bird seiz^T it 
with the bill first, (^if in^erfiroroifs,) then secures it under its feel to eat it. When 
coming on a bird or mouse, which it has pursued for some distance, it settles its 
feet at the moment it strikes with its bill the cranium of tlie object pursued. I 
have seen a bird of this kind in America, he adds, carried to a considerable dis- 
tance by a Carolina dove, fastened to the back and head of the dove with beak and 
feet. Although the toes are slender, and the claws comparatively weak, iheir 
press is powerful; and the bite it inflicts with the bill, can draw blood from a 
robust man's hand. 
"The flight is interrupted, being performed by jerks; and when perched, the 
tail is in constant motion. Its voice is capable of much variation, and it possesses 
the power of imitating the notes of many of the smaller birds, which it is said to 
use for the purpose of decoying them to their own destrHCtion. Its favourite haunts 
are wooded and inclosed situations. It is extremely courageous, attacking hire's 
much its superior in size ; and will not allow a hawk, crow, or magpie, to approach 
its haunts with impunity. Its legs and talons are slender jmd weak, and are never 
used in tearing up its prey ; this is effected by the bill, which is thick, and fur- 
nished with very powerful muscles; and in this respect it strikingly differs from 
the rapacious order." 
2. — EniM?uRGH Philosophical Journal, By Robekt Jamkson, 
Regius Professor of Naf'iral History, Lecturer on Mineralogy, &c. 
Quarterly. 8vo. 7sXkl. 
The Number for .lt)LY, contains 
Page 181, An Article. — On the Geological j4ge of Reptiles. By Gideon 
Mantell, Esq. F.U.S., &c. 
Among the numerous interesting facts which the researches of modern Geologists 
have brought to light, there is none more extraordinary and imposing, than the 
discovery that there was a period, when the earth was peopled by oviparous quad- 
rupeds of a most appalling magnitude; and tliat reptiles were the Lords of tho 
creation, before the existence of the human race. Tliese creatures of the ancient 
world, many of which from their extraordinary size and form, rival the fabled 
monsters of antiquity, existed in immense numbers, and in latitudes novv too cold 
for the habitation of modern oviparous quadrupeds. Their remains occur in strata, 
far more ancient than those which contain the reliquisE of the viviparous Hnimuls; 
and an; found in marine, as well as in fresh water dcjios'ts. Some, from their or- 
ganization, have been e\idcntly filled lo live in the sea only ; while others were 
